On the Sidelines: Farewell, Elizabeth

Wednesday

Dec 11, 2013 at 11:11 PM

By DEAN HENSLEYTimes-News Staff Writer

In my 17 years here, I've seen a lot of people come and go in the sports department, and I've written about those colleagues who started new chapters in their lives.I've never written about anyone from the news department, but after having the pleasure of not only being a co-worker but a friend to news clerk Elizabeth Gilbeaux, that's about to change.For the past year-and-a-half, Elizabeth and I were like a tag team. As I was coming into work, she was leaving for the day. We always saw each other usually 20 minutes at most, but in that short amount of time, no matter how bad of a day either one of us had, we both made each other laugh at least once.Tuesday was Elizabeth's last day at the Times-News. We saw each other for about 15 minutes. We laughed more than once and almost cried.Looking through the paper, you don't see her name, but you will see her work."She was at the core of the newsroom, acting as a gatekeeper for community information," Jennifer Heaslip, our night editor, said. "She compiled the briefs packages for the lifestyles section and news and managed the weather art features, typed columns, letters-to-the-editor and worked with our intern." Elizabeth's name has appeared only twice in the print edition of the paper … once for a feature story she wrote and the other for a letter to the editor she sent in just before she started working here. In both, her words were powerful, but it was in her letter to the editor that really showed what Elizabeth is all about.This is the letter submitted in November 2012:To the editor:Don't let anyone fool you — it's the little things in this world that truly matter.Thinking on the little things takes me back to being a much younger girl, being taught lessons and values at home first, and in kindergarten. Lessons like sharing is caring, and being taught when to use the words "please" and "thank you."As we get older, we learn new lessons, but some forget that the first ones are the foundation to build upon.Some 20 years later, "please" and "thank you" are still magic words, and my smile has always and will continue to get me farther than a frown.Elizabeth GilbeauxArdenThat's Elizabeth. Her smile worked wonders and will continue to work wonders. We wish her all the best.* * *Now, on to racing... that's right, racing. It's time to settle up on my friendly wager each year with WHKP's Chuck Hill. We picked the top three Chase finishers for the end of the season, and he got more right than I did. Only one of my picks (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) made the top 10. All three of Chuck's picks made it. So, I will be making my trip to WHKP later this afternoon with unsweet tea in tow. Cheers, Chuck.